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Thomson was attacked by three men throwing firebombs at his Niagara-area house last August. The 53-year-old former firearms instructor says he went and got one of his pistols and fired shots over the heads of the attackers and they ran off.

The whole event was caught by Thomson on his own security cameras. At least six firebombs were thrown at his property, including his dog house, but when he handed the tapes over to Niagara Regional Police, Thomson himself was treated as a criminal.

On Wednesday, the charges of careless use of a firearm and pointing a firearm were dropped, but two counts of careless storage of a firearm remain.

"We thank the Crown for its consideration," said Thomson's lawyer, Ed Burlew, as he left the courthouse.

Thank the Crown? Absolutely not. The Crown erred here.

For defending his own property, Ian Thomson has been criminally charged, had his seven firearms seized and his firearms licence revoked. He has had to go to the bother and expense of hiring a lawyer and has seen his name tarnished as a criminal.

All for defending his own property.

Now some readers will argue he shouldn't have used guns.

Why not?

The pistol he used to ward off the attackers worked. It was legally owned by a well-trained individual and was properly licenced.

Ian Thomson followed our restrictive gun laws to a T and he has still been charged and had his firearms seized.

Should he have simply called the police in this matter?

Waiting for police didn't help David Chen, the Toronto grocer who consistently called about shoplifters, only to watch police let them go. When Chen finally tackled and tied up a career criminal stealing from him for the second time in one day, the police were there in minutes and charged Chen.

Calling the police hasn't helped the residents of Caledonia who have watched the Ontario Provincial Police turn a blind eye to Native violence but arrest another man for raising the Canadian flag. The OPP didn't step in to protect the property rights of homeowners in Caledonia who were stopped from even getting near their homes without a Native-issued passport.

I'm not anti-cop, but the police are agents of the state and increasingly governments are treating the law-abiding citizens as the criminals.

Thomson had every right to fire his gun at the hoods attacking his house.

His life was in imminent danger; three men were outside throwing firebombs at his house and yelling death threats at him. Those men are lucky he didn't aim at them, a move that would be perfectly legitimate under the circumstances.

There once was a time when the idea that man being attacked at night inside his own home could be charged for shooting warning shots would have been considered absurd. It should still be considered absurd. We have the right to self defence in this country, it is an ancient right that has not faded away with time nor the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That Thomson was ever charged is ridiculous. That he is still facing charges is a travesty.

The Crown should do the right thing and withdraw the remaining charges while they still have a shred of credibility intact.